Characteristics –
Look:
Black and light brown grains.
End grain has a dotted pattern due to the side grain pattern; this creates a very unique pattern.
No apparent growth rings.
Feel:
Slightly heavy and feels like it could be dense.
Splintery.
Odor:
I didn’t notice any particular smell to this wood.
Workability –
Cutting:
Cutting seemed to be a bit on the tough side.
The band-saw struggled a little more than usual and a little burning occurred.
Drilling:
Drilling wasn’t too bad, but it did heat up pretty quickly and started to burn and smoke.
Turning:
Turning this wood was a bit of a challenge, only because I had to go very slow, otherwise, I risked splitting it or shredding it to pieces.
Using sharp tools seemed to be a must and use light pressure when applying the tool.
Some of the black grain would get removed from the turning, causing this to be a very splintery wood.
Sanding:
Sanding was a piece of cake and definitely helped with the final shaping after turning.
Expect to do a lot of sanding to remove the gaps created from the black grains being removed during the turning process.
Polishing:
Polishing shouldn’t be an issue.
My first stab at it with Shellawax went to hell; most likely my fault.
I re-sanded and decided to go polish free this go around.
Next time, I might try CA glue as I heard that works good.
I might try Shellac and top coat it with poly or lacquer on another turning.
Other Notable Features:
Some woods require you to tap the threads in order to get the stopper installed. Since this wood seemed that it would be hard, I attempted the tap. That was a complete failure! The differences between the soft grains and the hard grains did not allow the tap to grab. Putting the wood blank on the threaded mandrel did not end up being an issue.
Conclusion:
Black Palm was a little tricky to work with and requires a little patience. Don’t rush through the turning, otherwise, you may screw it up. It is worth the wait since the grain pattern is awesome and it makes for a great looking wine bottle stopper.
